More by Carrie Ann

The judges on Dancing With the Stars are only given a few precious moments to comment on the competition each week, which is why we’ve offered DWTS judge (and Parade favorite!) Carrie Ann Inaba a place to let her critiques run wild!

Selfie with Tom Bergeron, Bruno Tonioli, and Len Goodman. This was taken during the show! :) lol sneaky sneaky!

This season is full of new twists and turns. It’s a bit of a roller coaster ride, but I’m enjoying the new elements. The new Ray Chew Band is doing great, and our new cohost, Erin Andrews is delivering some fun banter and unexpected moments up in the skybox… it’s really fun! And Artem is dancing beautifully and it’s nice to be able to see him weekly again–not to mention the fun opening number we had choreographed by my friend Mandy Moore! But then to top it off, we had a surprise double elimination. We only found out about it right before the show as well! Keeps it fun. That’s the name of the game this year! Stay on your toes! You never know what’s coming up next! We are also going to be having some guest judges, Ricky Martin, Julianne Hough, Red Foo from LMFAO (who is actually related to Barry Gordy) and of course, Robin Roberts, who is the reason I’m sleeping in my trailer at DWTS tonight so we can announce her guest judge role on GMA tomorrow. What? Yes, you read correctly. I am sleeping in my trailer at the studios tonight because my call for hair and make up is 3:30 a.m. So, I didn’t go home tonight. I’m still here. I washed my face and took a shower and am getting into my bed, which is really my sofa. I brought my favorite pillow and my favorite blanket and I’m snuggling in for bed now, with my computer so I can write my blog. I’m going to keep it a bit shorter tonight because I have to go to sleep and get up in about three hours.

This morning at GMA Announcing our first guest judge, Robin Roberts (at 5:00) I was in hair and make up at 3:30am.

A lot of people have been asking about what Tony said. So I will address his comments here and clarify more about NeNe‘s performance. Tony was upset because he felt I didn’t understand that he made a choice to do small arm movements for his partner as part of the choreography. And I understand completely what it means to make a stylistic choice of making smaller arm movements. Sometimes it’s a wonderful choice! However, even small arm movements need to be executed with full energy and must be connected to the rest of the movements. My constructive criticism for NeNe (who’s a really fun performer and has a LOT of potential) is that she has to make the movement hers. When you learn to dance, at first you copy the movements. They sometimes can look and feel awkward on your body and then you practice them and after a while they become your own movements. We use the mirror in rehearsals so we can accurately gauge what the audience sees (what is in the mirror) and what we feel. And a great dancer makes both good. That is how you make the dance your own. It is my opinion that NeNe still hasn’t gotten to the point where she has made the movements her own or found her connection to the movements. And the way to do that is to put more energy into the movements. If we examine her arm movements, they are still too small for her frame and her energy. Her arm movements felt stifled and disconnected from herself and the energy she has been putting into the performance. There is no problem with small arm movements. Stylistically speaking however, there is a problem when there is an imbalance and awkwardness. She’s got INCREDIBLE energy. It’s infectious, it’s loud and proud and beautiful! But the movements are not at the same level as her energy. Especially her arms. But I am encouraging her because I think when she makes this breakthrough, it’s going to be GREAT. She’s right on the edge… I feel it coming! Go NeNe! And go Tony for standing up for his partner! I love that kind of loyalty!

This morning at 3:30 am before hair and make up - look it's still dark out. OUCH!

I’m not going to cover all the performances this week, I’m just going to just talk about the top three. There was a three-way tie this week for first. The first couple who scored a 25 was James and Peta, and they wowed us with a fabulous show-stopping salsa! He has so much more charisma than I expected. Sure, he’s a good-looking man, but to make it into the DWTS Sexiest Men Hall of Fame, you have to be an incredible performer and own the stage with your performance. You don’t get into the Hall of Fame with just good looks, it takes talent and a special je ne sais quoi … I’ve never heard of Big Time Rush, but I’ve certainly received a lot of requests to come to the show so that people can see James perform, so I know he’s very popular, and obviously good looking. But his confidence in that salsa along with his sizzling presentation was exciting and a nice wake up to the ballroom! I think we are all looking forward to next week’s performance. And I think his confidence has gone up after that–and confidence is a huge part of doing well in this competition so, we shall see…

Moving on to the Charlie and Meryl dancing showdown. Both of these former partners and Olympic gold medalists are also tied for first place with their partners and produced top of-the-line performances. I was especially impressed with Meryl’s athleticism in her swing dance with Maks. It was great choreography –very lively and Meryl shone brightly. She’s one of our physically strongest female performers this season and I think the partnership she and Maks share is really exciting to watch! He looks like he’s having a great time out there and it’s really nice to have him back in the ballroom! The number was packed with difficult lifts and throws that she handled with ease and and a lively finesse. It was truly impressive. She’s also cute as a button and lit up the ballroom with her super cheerful and animated performance!

Charlie and Meryl were on the opposite ends of the spectrum as far as the type of performance they produced but equally as good. Charlie and Sharna‘s tango was quite impressive as well. He had a command of the movements and of Sharna that was palpable. It was powerful and dramatic. It was nice to see such a different and dramatic side of him. He reminds me of a young Mikhail Baryshnikov. They share a quality of movement that is unique: grounded but light as a feather. It’s a powerful combination to be light and grounded, especially in dance.

Photos: Just before showtime, Hanging out in the hair and makeup trailer. You can see my shoes!

Overall, the evening was fast-paced and exciting!! Next week, the audience can still vote on the “Switch Up.” So if you have a partnership you’d like to see, do your thing and go to the website and vote for who you want to see dancing with who. I’m looking forward to seeing who you all choose. I think it will be so hard on the partners. We’ve never done this before on our show so I’m also looking forward to seeing how it will all turn out as well. And then, what happens next? Who knows…You’ll just have to keep spending your Monday’s with us to find out!